Jonathan Hill
by Riel Fox
Summary: What happens when computer-wizard, gamer and science prodigy Jonathan Hill gets accepted into Hogwarts. A transition to a world where everything he knows is useless and everything he believes is turned upside-down.
1. An unexpected arrival

Hey. My name is Jonathan Hill, but you can call me Joe. I used to be a pretty average 11-year old, skinny and pale-looking with short brown hair and I loved video-games, computers and all things technology. My path in life looked pretty straight-forward:

I was finishing primary school, and was ready to enroll to a secondary school – then find a University to study something related to Computer Science, probably in the field of Artificial Intelligence.

Yes – I was a nerd. Yes –I wasn't very popular. I loved reading books, I loved researching and I was always first in class. My only friend, Andrew, got to know me due to our shared interest in video games. We both brought our PSP's at school –well hidden inside our backpacks- and played together during breaks. Pretty much nobody paid attention to us. As such, my school-days were passing pretty normal.

I thought that my life was going to be pretty normal as well. I could never imagine how abnormal things could go, and that in just a few days, I would find myself in a world not governed by technology and where science meant nothing that you didn't want it to mean. It all started when my mother, Jessica, brought my home from school at a Friday evening, and as soon as we got home, she started scrolling through the letters as usual, looking at the bills and the occasional community announcement. I headed to my room and already switched my computer on when my mother walked in and casually announced "Jo, you have a letter!" and she left an envelope on my desk, next to me.

She stood there, waiting for me to open it, probably as curious as I was. "Who sends letters nowdays?" I asked, and took it in my hands. My name and address were clearly written on the back, and when I turned it to the front, I saw a perfect red wax seal, stamped on it was a crest.

"A University? An academy for gifted student?" my mum answered proudly.

"A university!? Mum, _I'm 11_." I answered "And I am not a genius either.."

"But you are, you are a very special child!" my mum said with a smile all along her face. She was sure such a formal looking letter would be good news.

I started opening the letter carefully around the seal so as not to break it. It was a _nice_ seal. I've never seen an authentic medieval wax seal. I'd definitely keep it! Maybe start a seal collection… but for now, I wanted to see what the letter was all about. I finally took it out and started reading it:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL _of_ WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

Dear Mr. Hill,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Deputy Headmaster

Bangley Burton

I had no words. I passed the letter to my mother which she started reading while I scavenged the letter for more material. A second longer page was in the envelope as well, which I took out and skimmed:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL _of _WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

_The Standard Book of Spells__ (Grade 1)_

by Miranda Goshawk

_A History of Magic_

_by __Bathilda Bagshot_

_Magical Theory_

_by __Adalbert Waffling_

_A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_

_by __Emeric Switch_

_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_

_by __Phyllida Spore_

_Magical Drafts and Potions_

_by __Arsenius Jigger_

_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_

_by __Newt Scamander_

_The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_

_by __Quentin Trimble_

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad.

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS

ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK

By then my mother had finished reading the first page and her eyebrow was raised. She was as riddled as I was. "What the…" she said to me. I shook my head, as I didn't know more.

"Is this a joke?" she continued

By then, the front door opened and my father got in. It was about time he finished his job at the software company he was working. My father, Will, was a software engineer and it was his influence which gave me my keen interest for technology. From a young age, I could remember him sitting in front of the screen, writing line after line of code, making the computer do magic. He told me he could make the computer do whatever we could think or imagine!

As he got in, he threw his coat on the armchair of the living room and came into my room to see what we were doing "Jessy, Jo?" he said

"Dad, what is a School of witchcraft and wizardry?" I asked curiously. My dad always gave the best advice, so he could probably figure something out of this. My mother passed him the letter and said

"I've never heard of something like this either.."

"Probably an advertisement" said my father coolly "they always make them sound fancy to attract more attention, and they probably heard that we have a son who is a student from some government database"

He then read the letter in a snap and got to the second page, his face changed from sure to riddled.

"Son, I have no idea.." he said.

The thought of both my parents having no idea got me excited. Grown-ups always know and they always have an opinion about everything…

"Nothing a web search won't tell us about" he said then, and all three of us circled around my computer screen as I opened Google.

I typed "HOGWARTS school of witchcraft and wizardry" and clicked on Search. A moment later, I was even more surprised…

Your search - _HOGWARTS school of witchcraft and wizardry_ - did not match any documents.

Suggestions:

Make sure that all words are spelled correctly.

Try different keywords.

Try more general keywords.

…that google hadn't found anything. Not even a reference. Nothing! Google always finds _something_.

I searched "Hogwarts School", nothing.

"Hogwarts Academy", nothing…

Just search "Hogwarts" my father suggested. I did so, and there was a result.

Hogwarts Drills – Ireland.

"Doesn't look like a school" my father commented "Well, it's not a very popular school anyway, if there's anything about it on the Internet. Probably a scam or a joke. The probably have a hog that's going to give you warts as a teacher if they exist. Better avoid.." he ensured me.

His statement sounded pretty logical.

But what is a school for witchcraft and wizardry, I asked again.

"Probably they give lessons on how to be a magician or a party entertainer. They don't get much revenue.. You want to be a scientist, just like your dad" he said calmly "No, even better than dad, you will innovate! When I was your age, I wasn't half as smart as you were. It's a pity to waste all this intelligence on something that will not utilize it. You will change the world – and we will be the proudest parents in the world, not that we aren't now."

I agreed. This letter was non-sense. My dad got it and said "I'll throw it away, if you don't mind"

"Actually I want to keep it" I said "I want to show that to Andrew tomorrow, will make for a good laugh. Also, the seal is nice."

"Okay then." said dad and left the letter down. "Well, let's prepare lunch, shall we?"

"Coming!" said my mum and rushed to the kitchen as well.

I gave the letter one more look. What could it be? Are there people who claim to perform paranormal activities? Against the rules of science? I sure wanted to show it to Andrew.

But I kept it mostly because I wanted to investigate by myself. I had to know what this school was…


	2. The vanishing letter

Gray clouds were concentrating in front of my face - almost asphyxiating me- and a lightning bolt came and shocked me on my face.

"Jo, wake up" my mum yelled from the kitchen "Breakfast's ready!"

I rolled over the bed and realized I slept with the letter. I woke up and took the letter, opened a folder where I had the slides for my lessons neatly in order. I put my PSP in between the slides, and the letter between the next slides. The folder went into my bag.

I went down and had breakfast, my mum was kissing my dad goodbye as he was leaving for work "Bye Jo!" he said smiling at me and closed the door behind him.

"Get ready for school, dear" my mum said casually as she was getting the pan out of the hop to clean it.

I dressed quickly, took the bag on my shoulders and went to school.

During the first period, I sat next to Andrew - as always - and whispered to him that I had something crazy to show him. He kept asking me what was it - but I insisted that we concentrate at the lesson - even more so because the history teacher had started staring at us with an annoyed look.

After that, we had computers - an introduction to Visual Basic - I did my assignment in a matter of minutes, then went on to help Andrew. I then went to my computer professor, gave in my assignment and suggested an update to one of his Android smartphone applications - a programming trick to fix some of the bugs. "Perhaps you should be skipping these lessons." he commented, not sure if he was thankful or annoyed. Then I went to help Andrew with his own assignment.

The break finally came, and we both met at our usual corner of the school yard, and Andrew threw his bag at the bench next to us and sat, waiting for the great reveal.

"So?" he said.

"So, wait a second." I answered taking out the folder off my bag.

I took the PSP out and put it on the bench. Then I scrolled to the next slide and there was..

..nothing. I went through all the slides separately. -The letter was missing!

Meanwhile, Andrew was staring curiously at me "What are you searching for? Is it a new game? A pre-release?"

"No, nothing like that" I answered.

"Maybe it's in the bag.." I told him and placed all my books and notepads on the bench, one by one.

"I am sure I had it in the folder!" I cried stubbornly.

"What was it? Just tell me!" said Andrew

"Ok, I wanted you to see it first hand to believe it - but a letter came for me yesterday. It was a very strange letter - it had an authentic wax seal and a medieval style. It was inviting me in a very formal way to attend a school.. of magic." I explained to an increasingly smiling Andrew.

"A what?" he said.

"I know!" I replied.

"Well, if it was sent from a magic school, maybe it is performing its own magic trick on you!" he said jokingly.

"Don't be _ridiculous_, Andrew... There is no such thing as magic.

Only science! Sure, it can't explain everything, in fact there are a lot of things it can't explain, but it's all we've got. Humanity through the years has explained lots of things that seemed unexplainable through observation, experiment and theory. We can't put our hands in the air and call things "magic". Then we will never move forward. And everything can be explained with time.. Also, I have an interesting theory about the letter, it probably fell somewhere!"

"Woah, calm down Einstein - I was joking." Andrew sighed.

"I thought you were suggesting that this was actually a magic letter" I said a bit apologetically. But I had to confess, it felt so satisfying bringing all the power of science on the table. Andrew knew my obsession so he always avoided subjects which included science, technology or the paranormal. He didn't really appreciate my lectures, I think. So we just did idle chatter and gaming together - along with me ending up trying to teach him programming every time I visited his home for a Saturday night gaming marathon.

Thus, the break finished and the rest of the day was pretty normal with neither science nor magic being mentioned again.

It was lunch time and mum came to pick me up from school. I got into my room and switched on my computer.

I heard my father coming in from the kitchen and throwing his coat on the armchair. Mum was preparing lunch and there was a gentle knock on the door.

"Will, I think someone is knocking the door!" mum said and dad, who just sat on his armchair where his coat also resided, stood up annoyingly and said "Why don't they just ring the bell, gosh..."

My dad opened the door and my mum leaned in from the kitchen door to see who it was. A tall slender man with an old-fashioned coat, a matching fedora you'd see in a detective noir movie from the fifties and a thin moustache walked in.

"Can I help you?" my dad asked the man

"Yes sir" said the man with a cheery voice "I am looking for Mr. Hill!"

"I am Mr. Hill" said my father "What would you like to talk to me about?"

"I don't think you are my Hill, sir.

I am looking for Mr. Jonathan Hill - he must be eleven years old - does he live here?" said the man, looking at some notes.

"He is my son, what's the matter?" asked my dad almost instantly after the man finished his sentence. "Who are you?" he added.

"Oh, my name is Manuel Alfonso, I am working for the Hogwarts faculty as a transfiguration professor and I come here as a special messenger. I have some exciting news for you and little Jonathan, if you could kindly call him here.."


	3. The Shapeshifting Man

Gray clouds were concentrating in front of my face - almost asphyxiating me- and a lightning bolt came and shocked me on my face.

"Jo, wake up" my mum yelled from the kitchen "Breakfast's ready!"

I rolled over the bed and realized I slept with the letter. I woke up and took the letter, opened a folder where I had the slides for my lessons neatly in order. I put my PSP in between the slides, and the letter between the next slides. The folder went into my bag.

I went down and had breakfast, my mum was kissing my dad goodbye as he was leaving for work "Bye Jo!" he said smiling at me and closed the door behind him.

"Get ready for school, dear" my mum said casually as she was getting the pan out of the hop to clean it.

I dressed quickly, took the bag on my shoulders and went to school.

During the first period, I sat next to Andrew - as always - and whispered to him that I had something crazy to show him. He kept asking me what was it - but I insisted that we concentrate at the lesson - even more so because the history teacher had started staring at us with an annoyed look.

After that, we had computers - an introduction to Visual Basic - I did my assignment in a matter of minutes, then went on to help Andrew. I then went to my computer professor, gave in my assignment and suggested an update to one of his Android smartphone applications - a programming trick to fix some of the bugs. "Perhaps you should be skipping these lessons." he commented, not sure if he was thankful or annoyed. Then I went to help Andrew with his own assignment.

The break finally came, and we both met at our usual corner of the school yard, and Andrew threw his bag at the bench next to us and sat, waiting for the great reveal.

"So?" he said.

"So, wait a second." I answered taking out the folder off my bag.

I took the PSP out and put it on the bench. Then I scrolled to the next slide and there was..

..nothing. I went through all the slides separately. -The letter was missing!

Meanwhile, Andrew was staring curiously at me "What are you searching for? Is it a new game? A pre-release?"

"No, nothing like that" I answered.

"Maybe it's in the bag.." I told him and placed all my books and notepads on the bench, one by one.

"I am sure I had it in the folder!" I cried stubbornly.

"What was it? Just tell me!" said Andrew

"Ok, I wanted you to see it first hand to believe it - but a letter came for me yesterday. It was a very strange letter - it had an authentic wax seal and a medieval style. It was inviting me in a very formal way to attend a school.. of magic." I explained to an increasingly smiling Andrew.

"A what?" he said.

"I know!" I replied.

"Well, if it was sent from a magic school, maybe it is performing its own magic trick on you!" he said jokingly.

"Don't be _ridiculous_, Andrew... There is no such thing as magic.

Only science! Sure, it can't explain everything, in fact there are a lot of things it can't explain, but it's all we've got. Humanity through the years has explained lots of things that seemed unexplainable through observation, experiment and theory. We can't put our hands in the air and call things "magic". Then we will never move forward. And everything can be explained with time.. Also, I have an interesting theory about the letter, it probably fell somewhere!"

"Woah, calm down Einstein - I was joking." Andrew sighed.

"I thought you were suggesting that this was actually a magic letter" I said a bit apologetically. But I had to confess, it felt so satisfying bringing all the power of science on the table. Andrew knew my obsession so he always avoided subjects which included science, technology or the paranormal. He didn't really appreciate my lectures, I think. So we just did idle chatter and gaming together - along with me ending up trying to teach him programming every time I visited his home for a Saturday night gaming marathon.

Thus, the break finished and the rest of the day was pretty normal with neither science nor magic being mentioned again.

It was lunch time and mum came to pick me up from school. I got into my room and switched on my computer.

I heard my father coming in from the kitchen and throwing his coat on the armchair. Mum was preparing lunch and there was a gentle knock on the door.

"Will, I think someone is knocking the door!" mum said and dad, who just sat on his armchair where his coat also resided, stood up annoyingly and said "Why don't they just ring the bell, gosh..."

My dad opened the door and my mum leaned in from the kitchen door to see who it was. A tall slender man with an old-fashioned coat, a matching fedora you'd see in a detective noir movie from the fifties and a thin moustache walked in.

"Can I help you?" my dad asked the man

"Yes sir" said the man with a cheery voice "I am looking for Mr. Hill!"

"I am Mr. Hill" said my father "What would you like to talk to me about?"

"I don't think you are my Hill, sir.

I am looking for Mr. Jonathan Hill - he must be eleven years old - does he live here?" said the man, looking at some notes.

"He is my son, what's the matter?" asked my dad almost instantly after the man finished his sentence. "Who are you?" he added.

"Oh, my name is Manuel Alfonso, I am working for the Hogwarts faculty as a transfiguration professor and I come here as a special messenger. I have some exciting news for you and little Jonathan, if you could kindly call him here.."


End file.
